New Snacks to Try

Posted by Lori:

Here are some Pinterest-found snacks I want to try.  I'm not sure of the original origin of these recipes, but am listing a site where I think it might have come from:

Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies: http://veryculinary.com/2011/03/22/oreo-stuffed-chocolate-chip-cookies/

Frozen Yogurt Bites: http://www.simplesavingsecrets.net/2012/03/recipe-frozen-yogurt-bites.html

What new things are you trying? 

Have a great weekend!

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Mexican Food Leftovers - Quick Idea for Baked Quesadillas

Posted by Lori:

Bringing home leftovers from Mexican food from a restaurant may not be something you're accustomed to doing, but here's an idea that might make you rethink leaving what's on your plate.  Or maybe you are ordering takeout from the restaurant.  What it typically eaten by one person at the restaurant, can most often be made into two plates of food at home.  Some of that is due to huge portions, but also some place seem to send more home in the to-go boxes.  Not a bad thing at all when you're feeding your family!

For our family of six, I have made quesadillas with the Mexican food leftovers.  If the restaurant serves homemade tortillas this is especially great!  The photo above is an uncooked flour tortillas I got at Walmart.  You just cook them yourself and they are great! Sorry I can't remember the name of the company that makes them.  But, back to the quesadillas!

Basically, I take whatever is left - rice, beans, beef and chicken enchiladas, cheese sauce, and sometimes fajita meat, and heat it up.  The I spread that mixture onto flour tortillas.  Add cheddar cheese, more beans, if needed (Ranch Style beans add flavor and juice), top with another tortilla and bake/broil.  After the top tortillas are browned, I flip the quesadilla and butter the other side, allowing it to bake/broil until browned.  I bake the quesadillas because, for our family, it would take a long time to cook them all, individually.  Bake at 400 degrees and then, if desired, turn it up to broil and watch closely until the desired browning is achieved.  Repeat with the bottom side (after flipping).  Turn the oven back to 400, allow the quesadillas to cook, then broil a little bit until browned.

My family things these "restaurant leftover quesadillas" are great!  I hope you enjoy trying them yourself.
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3,2,1 Cake

Posted by Donna:


A very close friend of mine sent this to me a few weeks ago. I forwarded it on to another mutual friend. Today, I heard back from her and she said she had made this with her granddaughters----and said it was a huge hit!!!!!


3,2,1 Cake

Ingredients:

1 box Angel food Cake Mix
1 box Cake Mix--any flavor

Directions:

In a ziploc bag, combine the two cake mixes together and mix well. For each individual cake serving, take out 3 Tablespoons of the cake mix combination and mix it with 2 Tablespoons of water in a small microwave-safe container. Microwave on high for 1 minute, and you have your own instant individual little cake!

Keep remaining cake mixture stored in the ziploc bag and use whenever you feel like a treat. You can top each cake with a dollop of fat free whipped topping and /or some fresh fruit.

This recipe is called 3,2,1 Cake because all you need to remember is:

3 T. mix
2 T. water
1 minute in the microwave



I don't know where this recipe originated, but I'm so glad I have it to share with others. Pin It Now!

Burlap Trimmed Lampshade

Posted by Lori:

This ivory lamp shade was dirty and plain.  My husband had picked up some burlap sacks from a farm supply store (They were on sale for 99 cents!!!) so I could use a few for decorating.  These trims were made with the seam parts of the bag.  I just cut the bottom or sides of the bag into about 2 inch strips, turned them over to the inside of the seam side, frayed the edges of the bigger, underneath piece, and hot-glued the trip on.  For the top trim, I made it ruffled by scrunching it up some as I glued.

The flower is a new addition to the scrapbooking section at Hobby Lobby.  The burlap flower is hotglued on and the organza/muslin ivory flower is a sticker.  What a quick "fix up" for this less-than-new lampshade!

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Grammy's Hamburger Pie

Hi, I'm Lauren, the daughter of the second cherry coke, which should make me the fourth cherry coke. I've been wanting to share a special recipe for a long time. It is my Grammy's hamburger pie. Almost every time I go to her house with some friends she makes this meal. I think it's great!

Hamburger:

2 pounds of browned hamburger meat (she browns hers with 5 T. butter, and 1/2 cup finely chopped onions, 1 teas. salt, 1 teas. accent, and  2 T. flour to thicken)

 Crust:

2 cups Bisquick

2/3 cup milk

Roll out crust and place in two 14in. pizza pans. Spread hamburger mixture into the pizza pans. After meat is spread over crust, cover each with fine shreeded cheedar cheese.

Top with mixture of 1 container of sour cream and 2 eggs mixed together. Spread this mixture over cheese.  Bake until crust is browned on the edges and top at 350.

 Enjoy!!!  :)

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Melted Chocolate Hearts/Shapes

Posted by Lori:

Melted chocolate can be piped into various shapes and add a sweet decoration to the top of your special desserts.

First, place desired amount of semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips in a glass measuring container or a small glass bowl.

Fill a medium saucepan half way full with water and heat over medium heat, while glass container holding chocolate rests in the water.  Stir chips until melted.  Don't allow water to boil.  

Spoon melted chocolate into piping/decorator bag with small round tip.

Line baking sheet with waxed paper.  Draw desired shapes on the waxed paper.

Allow chocolate shapes to cool and harden.

Use the shapes to decorate your desserts as desired.

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Babe's - Yum!

While my husband and three boys enjoyed a weekend in Amarillo, TX, playing golf (and my husband preached for a small congregation, too), my daughter and I headed to Arlington, TX, for a girls' getaway.  Our GPS lady, we fondly named "Betsy", wasn't cooperating in the Dallas metroplex, we managed to find where we were wanting to go ourselves, for the most part.

On the way to worship Sunday morning, we spotted a "Babe's" restaurant (www.babeschicken.com) in downtown Arlington.  Not sure why this cool bus was parked out front, but I snapped a picture of it because of its uniqueness.

This show marquee was right by Babe's.  If you're visiting Arlington, this might be something fun to check out!

We'd heard of Babe's, famous for their chicken and in many different locations around Dallas.  So, later on that afternoon we decided to go try it out ourselves.  

WOW!  We were impressed!

 Great food and huge portions! Fun atmosphere, too!  (You might want to learn the words to "The Hokey Pokey"!)

 This is just my filled plate.  The actual food comes out on platters and in bowls.  You pass it around your table, family style. (Mom has a recipe on here for Creamed Corn that she says is similar to the corn at Babe's!)

We quickly realized why people kept walking out with little "doggy bags" of chicken and/or biscuits!  We soon knew why and carried our own baggies out!

I can't wait to introduce my husband and three boys to Babe's.  I did notice that some of the restaurants have fewer meat selections.  The one in Arlington has six different meats to choose from.  We had the regular fried chicken and the chicken tenders.  Wonderful and worth a trip to Arlington!

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